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Vocabulary Games in the Classroom

A sure way of getting your students invested in class activities is by making it fun with vocabulary games. Time will fly by for them without them even realizing it. Vocabulary games is even fun for teachers!

The main goal for including these games and activities is to enrich my student's vocabulary understanding and using them correctly.

I'm going to mention my top 5 vocabulary games that I successfully use in my classroom.

1. Word Search.

I start every semester for all of my students with a word search game. I divide my class into equal groups and turn the game into a competition between them which makes it fun for the students. There are websites that generate these games for free. You only have to provide the words you want to include in the game.

2. Crossword Puzzle.

This has to be one of my favorite vocab game and surprisingly my students always enjoy this game the most. This game is a great way for students to learn vocabulary definition. Crossword is great game for pair work and turning it into another competition in the class. I always generate my crossword online where you can find several website that generate them for free after you provide them with the words and their definitions.

3. Hangman Vocabulary

You don't need any prep work for this game so it's a great game to use on the fly when you notice your students getting board or distracted. You only need the whiteboard, a whiteboard marker and a word to use! This is another great game to play in groups and turning it to a competition. Chocolate is usually the prize for winning in my classroom.

4. Word Jumble.

I don't always use this game to be honest. It depends on the level of my students. If they are at an advance level then I will use this game. The only thing you need is a list of words that the students have already used before and you mix up the letters of each word and they need to arrange the letters correctly for each word. They play this game individually and again make it into a competition.

5. Vocabulary Category.

This game test the student's vocab knowledge, their spelling and definition. I usually provide students with a table of 6 categories. For example, country, verb, furniture, electronic devices, animals and food. I then provide each group of students with one single letter. They have to give me as many words as possible for every category with the letter that were given to them.

So these are the games that I use most and that my students enjoy. The great thing about these games is you can change how easy or how difficult you want them to be.